Give it a little round and it forms nice thickets for animal habitat. Gray Dogwood is a much-maligned shrub by restoration groups because it is hard to eradicate and suckers freely. The use of fire in prairie management actually encourages the suckering of Gray Dogwood and many other native trees and shrubs. To say that Gray Dogwood is tough is an understatement. It can tolerate light shade but does best in full sun. It grows in wet or dry soils and even grows great in sand. Not only does this plant have outstanding restoration uses, but it thrives on compacted construction sites as well. The dogwood has white flowers in May that turn to white fruit on red panicles, which birds relish, in the fall. Locally collected seed produces plants with early fall color of maroon-red which lasts for 2 weeks. It is a great plant to be massed in shrub borders. Many of the plants sold in the trade as Gray Dogwood are really Rough-Leafed Dogwood that is much bigger and has no fall color.

Environment:  Xeric  Dry/Mesic  Mesic  Wet/Mesic  Hydric

Exposure:  Shade  Part Shade  Morning Sun  Full Sun

Bloom Period:  Spring  Summer  Fall